Showing papers on "Silica fume published in 2013"

Effect of polypropylene fiber on durability of concrete composite containing fly ash and silica fume

Abstract: A parametric experimental study has been conducted to investigate the effect of polypropylene fiber on the workability and durability of the concrete composite containing fly ash and silica fume. Four different fiber volume fractions (0.06%, 0.08%, 0.1% and 0.12%) were used. The results indicate that the addition of polypropylene fiber has a little adverse effect on the workability of concrete composite containing fly ash and silica fume. With the increase of fiber volume fraction, both of the slump and slump flow are decreasing gradually. However, the addition of polypropylene fiber has greatly improved the durability of the concrete composite containing fly ash and silica fume. The length of water permeability, the dry shrinkage strain and the carbonation depth of concrete containing fly ash and silica fume are decreasing gradually with the increase of fiber volume fraction as the fiber volume fraction is below 0.12%. Besides, freeze–thaw resistance of polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete containing fly ash and silica fume was found to slightly increase when compared to the concrete composite without fibers. Moreover, there is a tendency of increase in the freeze–thaw resistance with the increase of fiber volume fraction as the fiber volume fraction is below 0.08%. However, the freeze–thaw resistance begins to decrease slightly after the fiber volume fraction beyond 0.08%.

Use of waste glass as sand in mortar: Part II – Alkali–silica reaction and mitigation methods

Abstract: Waste glass may be used in concrete provided that the potential deleterious expansion caused by alkali–silica reaction (ASR) could be mitigated. In this study, the influence of glass content, color and particle size on ASR expansion of mortar was determined by the accelerated mortar bar method. Two approaches to control ASR expansion were investigated for green, brown and clear glass sand mortar. They were: (1) by replacing cement with pozzolans, that is, 30% fly ash, 60% GGBS, 10% silica fume, or 20% glass powder; (2) by adding a suppressor, that is, plain steel fibers, and lithium chloride and lithium carbonate compounds. Test results showed that the ASR expansion increased with higher glass content in the case of clear glass sand mortar, but would decrease with increasing content for green and brown glass sand mortar. The ASR expansion also decreased with smaller glass particle size, regardless of glass color. Fly ash and GGBS were the most effective in mitigating ASR expansion, followed by silica fume, steel fibers and lithium compounds.

The effect of fiber properties on high performance alkali-activated slag/silica fume mortars

Abstract: The effects of length and volume fraction of steel fibers on the mechanical properties and drying shrinkage behavior of steel fiber reinforced alkali-activated slag/silica fume (AASS) mortars were investigated within the scope of this research. Steel fibers with two different lengths of 6 mm and 13 mm, and four different volume fractions of 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% were used in the AASS mixtures. Also, a Portland cement (PC) based 1.5% steel fiber (13 mm length) reinforced mortar was prepared for comparison. Test results showed that mechanical performance of AASS mortars were significantly better than PC based control mortar. This superior performance of AASS mortar may be attributed to the higher bond properties between the fibers and AASS matrix compared to PC matrix. The mechanical performance of AASS improved dramatically parallel to the increment of fiber length from 6 mm to 13 mm. Also, the drying shrinkage of AASS mortars decreased with the increasing fiber dosage.

Self-assembling particle-siloxane coatings for superhydrophobic concrete.

Abstract: We report here, for the first time in the literature, a method to synthesize hydrophobic and superhydrophobic concrete. Concrete is normally a hydrophilic material, which significantly reduces the durability of concrete structures and pavements. To synthesize water-repellent concrete, hydrophobic emulsions were fabricated and applied on portland cement mortar tiles. The emulsion was enriched with the polymethyl-hydrogen siloxane oil hydrophobic agent as well as metakaolin (MK) or silica fume (SF) to induce the microroughness and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers to create hierarchical surfaces. Various emulsion types were investigated by using different mixing procedures, and single- and double-layer hydrophobic coatings were applied. The emulsions and coatings were characterized with optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM), and their wetting properties, including the water contact angle (CA) and roll-off angle, were measured. A theoretical model for coated and non-coated concrete, which ca...

Performance of self-compacting concrete containing different mineral admixtures

Abstract: Self-Compacting Concrete is an innovative concrete that does not require vibration for placing and compaction. It is able to flow under its own weight, completely filling formwork and achieving full compaction, even in the presence of congested reinforcement. One of the disadvantages of self-compacting concrete is its cost, associated with the use of high volumes of Portland cement and use of chemical admixtures. One alternative to reduce the cost of self-compacting concrete is the use of mineral admixtures such as silica fume, ground granulated blast furnace slag and fly ash, which is finely, divided materials added to concrete during mixture procedure. When these mineral admixtures replace a part of the Portland cement, the cost of self-compacting concrete will be reduced especially if the mineral admixtures are waste or industrial by-product. Moreover, the use of mineral admixtures in the production of self-compacting concrete not only provides economical benefits but also reduces heat of hydration. The incorporation of mineral admixtures also eliminates the need for viscosity-enhancing chemical admixtures. The lower water content of the concrete leads to higher durability, in addition to better mechanical integrity of the structure. This paper presents an experimental investigation on strength aspects like compressive, flexural and split tensile strength of self compacting concrete containing different mineral admixtures and workability tests for different mineral admixtures (slump, L-box, U-box and T50) are carried out. The methodology adopted is that mineral admixtures are replaced by 30%, 40% and 50% for Portland cement and performance is measured and compared. The influence of mineral admixtures on the workability, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural strength of self-compacting concrete was investigated. The mix proportion is obtained as per the guidelines given by European Federation of producers and contractors of special products for structure. The following inferences were made; optimum dosage of super plasticizer enhanced the flow property of the concrete. As a result, overall improvements in the flow and filling ability of the self-compacting concrete were observed. It is observed that when mineral admixtures used in self-compacting concrete, can reduce the amount of super-plasticizer necessary to achieve a given fluidity. It should be noted that the effect of mineral admixtures on admixture requirements is significantly dependent on their particle size distribution as well as particle shape and surface characteristics. From this view point, a cost effective self-compacting concrete design can be obtained by incorporating reasonable amounts of silica fume, fly ash, and ground granulated blast furnace slag.

Effect of silica fume on the characterization of the geopolymer materials

Abstract: The influence of silica fume (SF) addition on properties of geopolymer materials produced from alkaline activation of alumino-silicates metakaolin and waste concrete produced from demolition works has been studied through the measurement of compressive strength, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. Alumino-silicate materials are coarse aggregate included waste concrete and fired kaolin (metakaolin) at 800°C for 3 h, both passing a sieve of 90 μm. Mix specimens containing silica fume were prepared at water/binder ratios in a range of 0.30 under water curing. The used activators are an equal mix of sodium hydroxide and silicate in the ratio of 3:3 wt.%. The control geopolymer mix is composed of metakaolin and waste concrete in an equal mix (50:50, wt.%). Waste concrete was partially replaced by silica fume by 1 to 10 wt.%. The results indicated that compressive strengths of geopolymer mixes incorporating SF increased up to 7% substitution and then decreased up to 10% but still higher than that of the control mix. Results indicated that compressive strengths of geopolymer mixes incorporating SF increases up to 7% substitution and then decreases up to 10% but still higher than the control mix, where 7% SF-digested calcium hydroxide (CH) crystals, decreased the orientation of CH crystals, reduced the crystal size of CH gathered at the interface, and improved the interface more effectively.

Effect of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete on Pullout Behavior of High-Strength Brass-Coated Straight Steel Fibers

Abstract: The objective of this research was to investigate the pullout behavior of straight high-strength steel fibers embedded in different ultra-high- performance concretes (UHPCs) with a compressive strength ranging from 190 to 240 MPa (28 to 35 ksi). Particular attention was placed on obtaining matrixes with high packing density to enhance the physicochemical bond with the embedded fiber. The parameters investigated included the use of different sand ratios, silica fume (SF) and glass powder with different mean particle sizes, different superplasticizers, and the addition of hydrophilic or hydrophobic nanosilica particles. Thus, by tailoring the matrix composition, significantly different bond stress versus slip-hardening behaviors were achieved. This is atypical for straight smooth steel fibers, which are normally characterized by a bond-slip softening behavior. Microscopical studies revealed that scratching and delaminating of the brass-coated fiber surface by fine sand and by abrading matrix particles is one reason for this phenomenon, and help explain the maximum equivalent bond strength observed of up to 20 MPa (2.9 ksi).

Durability aspect of concretes composed of cold bonded and sintered fly ash lightweight aggregates

Abstract: This study reports the finding of an experimental study carried out on the durability related properties of the lightweight concretes (LWCs) including either cold bonded (CB) or sintered (S) fly ash aggregates. CB aggregate was produced with cold bonding pelletization of class F fly ash (FA) and Portland cement (PC) while S aggregate was produced by sintering the fresh aggregate pellets manufactured from FA and bentonite (BN). Two concrete series with water-to-binder (w/b) ratios of 0.35 and 0.55 were designed. Moreover, silica fume (SF) with 10% replacement level was also utilized for the purpose of comparing the performances of LWCs with and without ultrafine SF. The durability properties of concretes composed of CB and S aggregates were evaluated in terms of water sorptivity, rapid chloride ion permeability, gas permeability, and accelerated corrosion testing after 28 days of water curing period. The compressive strength test was also applied to observe the strength level at the same age. The results revealed that S aggregate containing LWCs had relatively better performance than LWCs with CB aggregates. Moreover, the incorporation of SF provided further enhancement in permeability and corrosion resistance of the concretes.

Supplementary Cementing Materials in Concrete

Abstract: This book looks at Supplementary Cementing Materials (SCMs) and how they impact concrete durability, hydration. temperature, and volume stability. The focus is on fly ash, slag, silica fume, and natural pozzolans. The author uses laboratory tests to examine the microstructural behavior of these materials and compares the results to the field performance of the materials.